Vernon Can Read! : A Memoir

From the civil rights revolution to the halls of power, the life story of a truly larger-than-life figure, Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. A number-one Washington Post bestseller, this memoir is the unforgettable story of a life and its times. As a student in Atlanta, Vernon Jordan had a summer job driving a white banker around town. During the man's afternoon naps, Jordan passed the time reading books, a fact that astounded his boss. "Vernon can read!" the man exclaimed to his relatives. Nearly fifty years later, Vernon Jordan, long-time civil rights leader, adviser and close friend to presidents and business leaders, remembers the sweeping struggles, changes, and dangers of black life during the civil rights revolution. After attending a predominantly white college in the Midwest and graduating from Howard University Law School, Jordan dedicated himself to the civil rights movement. He led the drive to register black voters in the South and was president of the National Urban League, one of the great civil rights organizations of the era, where he was instrumental in integrating American businesses and providing economic and social support to the expanding black middle class. He survived a white racist's assassination attempt and later became a pillar of America's legal, corporate, and political worlds. But Jordan's life was shaped in his early years, and this book is also a moving testament to the family whose support and courage provided the framework for his achievements. Vernon Can Read! chronicles a life of courage, pride, sacrifice, style, and accomplishment. A number-one Washington Post bestseller, this memoir is the unforgettable story of a life and its times. As a student in Atlanta, Vernon Jordan had a summer job driving a white banker around town. During the man's afternoon naps, Jordan passed the time reading books, a fact that astounded his boss. "Vernon can read!" the man exclaimed to his relatives. Nearly fifty years later, Vernon Jordan, long-time civil rights leader, adviser and close friend to presidents and business leaders, remembers the sweeping struggles, changes, and dangers of black life during the civil rights revolutio.;INTRODUCTION; CHAPTER 1; CHAPTER 2; CHAPTER 3; CHAPTER 4; CHAPTER 5; CHAPTER 6; CHAPTER 7; CHAPTER 8; CHAPTER 9; CHAPTER 10; CHAPTER 11; CHAPTER 12; CHAPTER 13; CHAPTER 14; CHAPTER 15; EPILOGUE; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS; INDEX As a young college student in Atlanta, Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. had a summer job driving a white banker around town. During the man’s post-luncheon siestas, Jordan passed the time reading books, a fact that astounded his boss. “Vernon can read!” the man exclaimed to his relatives. Nearly fifty years later, Vernon Jordan, now a senior executive at Lazard Freres, long-time civil rights leader, adviser and close friend to presidents and business leaders and one of the most charismatic figures in America, has written an unforgettable book about his life and times. The story of Vernon Jordan’s life encompasses the sweeping struggles, changes, and dangers of African-American life in the civil rights revolution of the second half of the twentieth century. "In 1955, as a college student home in Atlanta for vacation, Vernon Jordan had a summer job driving a retired white banker around town. During the man's afternoon naps Jordan passed the time reading books, a fact that astounded his boss. "Vernon can read!" the man exclaimed to his relatives. Nearly fifty years later, Vernon Jordan, longtime civil rights leader, adviser and close friend to presidents and business leaders, and one of the most charismatic figures in America, has written an unforgettable book about his life and times. It is a story that encompasses the sweeping struggles, changes, and dangers of black life during the civil rights revolution."--BOOK JACKET. CONTENTS 8 INTRODUCTION 10 CHAPTER 1 22 CHAPTER 2 45 CHAPTER 3 77 CHAPTER 4 104 CHAPTER 5 117 CHAPTER 6 135 CHAPTER 7 153 CHAPTER 8 175 CHAPTER 9 216 CHAPTER 10 233 CHAPTER 11 253 CHAPTER 12 274 CHAPTER 13 304 CHAPTER 14 326 CHAPTER 15 342 EPILOGUE 356 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 360 INDEX 362 The civil rights leader, attorney, and former head of the National Urban League recounts his boyhood in segregated Atlanta, his career, and the social changes he helped to bring about